Wiener Neustadt Cathedral, or the Cathedral of the Assumption of Mary and St. Rupert (german: Wiener Neustädter Dom; Dom Mariä Himmelfahrt und Sankt Rupert), is a Catholic church located in

Wiener Neustadt Wiener Neustadt (; ; Central Bavarian: ''Weana Neistod'') is a city located south of Vienna, in the state of Lower Austria, in northeast Austria. It is a self-governed city and the seat of the district administration of Wiener Neustadt-Land Distr ...

, Austria.Erwin Reidinger: ''Stadtplanung im hohen Mittelalter, Wiener Neustadt – Marchegg – Wien.'' In: ''Europäische Städte im Mittelalter, Forschungen und Beiträge zur Wiener Stadtgeschichte.'' Band 52, Wien 2010, , S. 155–176. Now a parish church, it was previously the

cathedral A cathedral is a church that contains the '' cathedra'' () of a bishop, thus serving as the central church of a diocese, conference, or episcopate. Churches with the function of "cathedral" are usually specific to those Christian denomination ...

of the

diocese of Wiener Neustadt The former Roman Catholic Diocese of Wiener Neustadt in Lower Austria existed from 1469 to 1785. In 1990, it was re-established as a titular see which is held by the bishop for the Military Services in Austria. History Upon the request of the ...

between 1468 and 1785, the year of the suppression of the diocese. The location and orientation of the building were selected and designed in the

Middle Ages In the history of Europe, the Middle Ages or medieval period lasted approximately from the late 5th to the late 15th centuries, similar to the post-classical period of global history. It began with the fall of the Western Roman Empire a ...

. The nave faces north and west in alignment with sunrise on the

day of Pentecost Pentecost (also called Whit Sunday, Whitsunday or Whitsun) is a Christian holiday which takes place on the 50th day (the seventh Sunday) after Easter Sunday. It commemorates the descent of the Holy Spirit upon the Apostles and other followers ...

on May 24, 1192, when Duke Leopold V was invested by

Emperor Henry VI Henry VI (German: ''Heinrich VI.''; November 1165 – 28 September 1197), a member of the Hohenstaufen dynasty, was King of Germany (King of the Romans) from 1169 and Holy Roman Emperor from 1191 until his death. From 1194 he was also King of Sic ...

. In 1207 the construction of the Romanesque church began. It was consecrated in 1279. From 1588 to 1630, Melchor Klesl was the administrator of the diocese, and built the first

Baroque The Baroque (, ; ) is a style of architecture, music, dance, painting, sculpture, poetry, and other arts that flourished in Europe from the early 17th century until the 1750s. In the territories of the Spanish and Portuguese empires including t ...

pulpit. The Baroque altar with the altarpiece of the Assumption of Mary by Giandomenico Cignaroli was fitted in 1776. In 1886 the

westwork A westwork (german: Westwerk), forepart, avant-corps or avancorpo is the monumental, often west-facing entrance section of a Carolingian, Ottonian, or Romanesque church. The exterior consists of multiple stories between two towers. The interior ...

and its towers were demolished because of damage from an earthquake; they were later rebuilt under the direction of the Viennese architect Richard Jordan. On March 6, 2012, a fire affected the cathedral, which was closed for six months to allow for repairs. Einblick LH Wr Neustaedter Dom

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wiener Neustadt, Assumption of Mary Cathedral Churches completed in 1279 Roman Catholic cathedrals in Austria Buildings and structures in Wiener Neustadt 13th-century Roman Catholic church buildings in Austria Henry VI, Holy Roman Emperor

See also

References